Argentina vs. Jordan: Messi will start on the bench, Scaloni tells elderly reporter | OneFootball

Expect group winner Argentina to rotate heavily against Jordan

Lionel Messi will be on the bench when Argentina kicks off its final World Cup group stage match against Jordan at 9 p.m. CDT tonight in Arlington, Texas; he likely won't be the only Albiceleste starter taking a break.

Argentina clinched first place in Group J with shutout wins against Algeria (3-0) and Austria (2-0) and knows it will play Cabo Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday. Jordan, in its first-ever World Cup, lost its group stage matches, 1-3 to Austria and 1-2 to Algeria. Al Nashama -- "the Chivalrous Ones" -- will be heading home.

Messi -- hero of Argentina's 2022 Cup win, two-time recipient of the competition's Golden Ball Award (2014, 2022) and, for now, the all-time leading World Cup scorer (18 goals) -- has scored all five Albiceleste group stage goals. Despite his outstanding form, the 39-year-old will start the match on the bench. We know that for sure because Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni, normally coy about sharing his lineup before matchday, told us. Rather, he told Enrique Macaya Márquez, 91, a longtime sports journalist covering his 18th World Cup.

“Leo is going to the bench," Scaloni said when Macaya Márquez posed the question during a pre-match news conference. "But I'm answering you because it's you; otherwise, I might have dodged the question.”

Scaloni, born in Pujato, Argentina, said that he "couldn't stop watching" sports broadcaster Macaya Márquez when he was an aspiring soccer player. The uncharacteristically candid response, and the reason for it, drew applause from the gathered reporters.

According to a report in U.S. News & World Report, goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez could be the only regular starting for Argentina tonight, with Nicolás Paz likely starting for Messi.

“The hope is that the team will play the same way (despite who starts). That’s what we’re going to try to do,” Scaloni said. “Jordan is a good opponent, and we’re not taking anything for granted. We’ll try to tweak some aspects of the last match, but with the same intention of controlling the ball and dominating the opponent.”

Musa Al-Taamari, 29, a winger/forward who plays club soccer for Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais FC in France, is considered to be "the face of Jordanian football." Other players to watch include attacking midfielder Ali Olwan, 26, and defenders Yazan Al-Arab and Nizar Al-Rashdan.